Henrik Sedin, last year's league MVP, scored his first goal of the new season, an empty-netter, in Vancouver's 3-0 victory over New Jersey. The Devils' only victory in their past six games was over the Ducks. The Vancouver Sun reports.

Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says Washington's Alexander Ovechkin is entering a crossroads of sorts after three consecutive first-round playoff exits.

Tyler Myers, the 6-foot-8 defenseman who was Rookie of the Year last season, is minus-10 for slumping Buffalo, and some think he misses ex-defense partner Henrik Tallinder, now in New Jersey.

The improved Tampa Bay Lightning come to Anaheim Wednesday with a 7-2-1 record and victories over Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and at least three goals in seven of its 10 games. Tampa Bay's 15 points are tied for best in the East, the Lightning leads the league in goals per game, and newcomers Sean Bergenheim and Dominic Moore have combined for seven goals in Steve Yzerman's first year as general manager.

Signaling that his free-agent signing last summer was a mistake, the Ducks on Friday dealt defenseman Steve Eminger to the New York Rangers for left wing Aaron Voros and prospect Ryan Hillier.

Eminger, 26, signed a two-year, $2.25-million contract just before training camp last season and the thought was that the former first-round pick would be a regular on the blue line and possibly work his way into a top-four role under coach Randy Carlyle, who once coached him while as an assistant in Washington.

While he often logged significant minutes, Eminger was one of the main reasons why the Ducks' defense struggled mightily as a unit. He was demoted for all but one game over a month-long stretch from Dec. 3 to Jan. 2.

Eminger was scratched 18 times in all and finished with four goals and 12 assists in 63 games. The seven-year veteran had a plus-1 rating but that didn't indicate the times he was often pushed around in his end and forced into making mistakes under pressure.

The deal appears to further weaken a blue line that's down to Lubomir Visnovsky, James Wisniewski, Sheldon Brookbank and recently acquired Toni Lydman as far as proven NHL players but it's also a sign that they'd rather have someone else than Eminger, who is due to make $1.5 million.

-- Clearly, the hit by the Ducks' James Wisniewski on Chicago's Brent Seabrook that resulted in an eight-game suspension for the rugged defenseman was the dominant topic of the day as the ruling by NHL discipline boss Colin Campbell didn't come until the afternoon.

The impact of the suspension will not only be heavy on Wisniewski but the Ducks as well as they'll lose a top-pairing defender who is is averaging over 24 minutes and plays in all situations. Wisniewski may have went overboard in getting back at his good friend Seabrook for his hit on Corey Perry but he also gives the blue line some bite.

Some quick hits from a shorter workout session at Anaheim Ice (ostensibly so guys could watch the U.S. team run over Finland in the first period):

-- Steve Eminger apparently got the message Ducks coach Randy Carlyle sent him at the middle of the season as he has been in the lineup and logging heavy minutes over the last two months.

"I think a lot of it has to do with when I was sitting out, I had a chance to refocus and think about what I had to do to stay in the lineup," Eminger said. "That was to play aggressive and move my feet. Make something happen out there. Not just be another player and go through a game unnoticed.

"I had to do something."

Eminger was scratched for all but one of a 15-game stretch from Dec. 3 to Jan. 2 as Sheldon Brookbank, who was the seventh defenseman, had moved past him in the pecking order. It was a bitter pill to swallow for someone expected to be a regular when the Ducks signed him to a two-year deal last September.

Not one to find the back of the net on a regular basis, Ducks defenseman Steve Eminger immediately knew when he scored his last goal.

"My last one was the last game of last season," Eminger said.

Try April 11, 2009 while with Florida against Washington, the team that drafted him 12th overall in 2002. It was the end of a season in which he put up career-best numbers -- with three teams.

Eminger was hoping to get a fresh start when he signed a two-year deal with the Ducks right before training camp. The thought was that he would lock down a regular spot on the blue line.

But with him struggling in his own end and Sheldon Brookbank leapfrogging him on the depth chart, Eminger was out of the lineup for all but one game over a month-long stretch before Coach Randy Carlyle put him back in Jan. 3 against Chicago.

DALLAS -- Because of a scheduled early afternoon flight, I could not make the Ducks' practice at suburban Farmers Branch but was able to obtain a couple of tidbits from the 45-minute workout through the club's fine media relations staff.

-- Center Ryan Getzlaf (leg laceration) is on the trip but did not take in any on-ice activities and remains day-to-day. Getzlaf sat out Tuesday's game against Minnesota, the first contest he's missed this year.

-- Teemu Selanne had the pins removed from his left hand on Tuesday and accompanied the Ducks here. Selanne, who's been out since he suffered the broken hand on Dec. 3, skated with the team but remains on track to return next week.

-- Defenseman Steve Eminger has battled flu-like symptoms for the past few days but did make the trip and practiced.

Outside of that, today was all about who made the respective Olympic teams for Canada, Finland and Switzerland.

Sheldon Brookbank is in the lineup earning some decent ice time, providing some surprising offense from the blue line in recent games and earning the praise of Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.

Steve Eminger is the flip side of that.

Brookbank has taken Eminger's spot on defense and, for the moment, doesn't appear that he's going to give it back anytime soon. And so Eminger, who played in all but two of the first 26 games, patiently waits for another chance.

"That's all I can ask for right now," he said. "When I'm in there, I can't give a reason to be taken out."

Being a healthy scratch is something Eminger has often had to deal with in his seven-year NHL career. The 26-year-old hoped to become a fixture in the Ducks' back end after spending the 2008-09 season with three teams -- Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Florida.

Bobby Ryan knows he may be needed by the Ducks more than ever right now and the winger now has the opportunity to prove that he can be a big-time performer.

Now that Teemu Selanne is lost to the team until at least the middle of January, it's up to offensive players like Ryan and Joffrey Lupul to fill the void that Selanne's absence creates in the lineup.

The two did just that last week against Minnesota when they each scored two goals in the first game Selanne sat out because of a broken bone in his left hand. Lupul also came back with a goal Sunday against Ottawa.

Not only could a hot streak for Ryan be beneficial to the team but it can help the winger himself during negotations on a new contract, which have been put on hold. Ryan can become a restricted free agent in July.

"Teemu is a huge, huge void to fill in the goal-scoring department," Ryan said. "We need other guys to step up, not just Loops and I. Some guys are going to get some opportunity in the offensive situations that they've been waiting for. A healthy rivalry is a good thing. Hopefully a lot of guys are competing each other to fill that void.

Only a few players skated today as most of the Ducks were given the afternoon off following Saturday night's 3-2 loss to San Jose, keeping them at the bottom of the Western Conference.

Left wing Joffrey Lupul did come to the Honda Center to get treatment for the back spasms that flared up Thursday and caused him to sit out his first game of the season. Lupul remains questionable for Monday's home game against Calgary.

The Ducks did have center Saku Koivu return to action after the veteran missed five games because of a strained groin muscle. Koivu assisted on James Wisniewski's goal and played nearly 17 minutes but also lost 10 of 13 draws in the faceoff circle.

Defenseman Steve Eminger also returned action after sitting out a game because of back spasms. Eminger logged 15:11 of ice time and had three shots on goal.

The Ducks did get production from their blue line Saturday as Wisniewski and Ryan Whitney delivered the goals. Their defensemen accounted for just two goals in the first 18 games before Scott Niedermayer scored the overtime winner Thursday against Tampa Bay.